Brussels gives Cameron November deadline

European officials are warning David Cameron to meet a deadline of early November to spell out in writing his demands for EU reform, according to senior diplomatic sources.

If the British prime minister does not produce the list by early November, the sources said, the topic will be wiped from the agenda of the December EU leaders’ summit. That meeting has long been planned as the moment for European leaders to give direction on what British demands they are willing to entertain in order to keep the U.K. in the European Union.

The unease over Cameron’s refusal to reveal his negotiation demands adds to criticism of the British prime minister from all sides regarding his handling of the U.K.’s EU referendum.

Diplomatic sources in national capitals across Europe complain that the British do not know what they want. At home Cameron’s own Conservative party refuses to back him on the issue — having declared neutrality in order to meet the demands of Euroskeptics in the party.

Britain’s opposition Labour and Green parties are also divided. Even the leader of the pro-EU Liberal Democrats, Tim Farron, told POLITICO that Cameron’s approach to the referendum is “about as unstrategic as you can get.”

Expressing frustration at the lack of either a long-list or short-list of concrete demands ahead of this week’s summit, sources in the Council of Ministers said that national leaders could not be expected to discuss the demands in detail without first leaving at least a month for preparatory discussions between London, other national capitals and European officials.

Contradicting Downing Street’s recent statement that “technical talks are progressing well,” European Council President Donald Tusk removed a “technical analysis” of the U.K. referendum from this week’s summit agenda, which now includes only a general discussion of “process.”

The original schedule had included a presentation on what would and would not be legally and logistically possible to achieve in the course of 2016 and 2017.

Tusk’s spokesman, Preben Aamann, said Monday there was no official deadline given to the U.K. on providing details and “no threat to adjust the December European Council’s agenda.”

A U.K. government spokesman said that “no deadline has been imposed by the EU. The U.K. renegotiation remains firmly on the EU agenda and there is no change to the U.K.’s approach to achieving a successful renegotiation.”

British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond tried to calm mounting concerns about the slipping timeline by telling reporters last week that talks will intensify after the Polish elections on October 25. But EU diplomats are quick to dismiss the elections as a factor in setting a new timeline.

EU officials admit their contributions are dependent on the U.K. government moving first. Council sources are frustrated that there is no starting point yet for political negotiations, but a Commission source urged calm: “It’s Cameron’s decision on how to play it and when to play it.”

The what ifs

In the meantime, the Commission and the Council have been testing hypothetical scenarios of what the British may demand for EU reform. In the absence of anything on paper from London, they’re relying on speeches and the Conservative party manifesto for guidance, according to an official.

Because of the slow pace of talks, the Council is leaving little wiggle room for the British once they hand over their demands. There will be limited tolerance for additions or subtractions from the list, officials say.

The waiting game is being played in other European capitals. Officials in Berlin have also been testing out hypothetical scenarios of reforms that the British may seek, since there has been no clear signal from London of what they might entail.

Cameron spent his birthday on Friday with German Chancellor Angela Merkel at his country residence Chequers discussing the referendum issue. An official statement from the prime minister’s office said the two leaders spent dinner “taking stock of the technical talks that have taken place since July and looking ahead to the process between now and the December European Council.”

This article was updated to correct a description of how the U.K. referendum will be discussed at this week’s EU summit, and also to include a statement from the U.K. government.

Authors:

Related stories on these topics:

Louis Vis

This is the right decision from Brussels. Other Member States need to know what our gvt wants but we also need to know what the deal is if we are to have a fully informative campaign on whether we should stay or leave the EU. This being said, there is no doubt that the economic and political damage caused by Brexit would be tremendous for both the UK and the EU as a whole (https://youngeuropeansnetwork.wordpress.com/2015/08/19/political-damage-of-the-brexit-referendum/). It is far better to fight for reforms from the inside than fight it from the outside. Furthermore, both Angela Merkel (Germany) and Emmanuel Macron (France) have supported the idea of creating a new treaty/reforming past one over next few years. Therefore leaving in 2016/2017 would prevent us from this opportunity.

Posted on 10/12/15 | 6:01 PM CET

ExLiberal

This is proof number 1,251 that the EU will NEVER accept reform.
Particularly, reform “from the inside.”
End the insanity, and get out!

Posted on 10/12/15 | 6:07 PM CET

Scandinavian

The fundamental mistake of Cameron and all Brits is that they think Europe needs the UK more than the UK needs Europe. Europeans are FED UP with this British arrogance. Please SOD OFF to your FKKKNG island and leave the rest of us alone.

Cameron is such a bad politician and strategist that he now pissed off the very people that could have saved him. Europe could have thrown him a few crumbs which he could have symbolically used as a “win”. Now he doesn’t even have those!!! What a clown!!!!
Real Europe haters are not gonna care if Europeans can’t get benefits for 2 or 3 years. They want out, no matter if they get all poorer and if they lose their jobs. THEY DON’T CARE!
I say, good riddance to them all!!!! SOD OFF!! SOD OFF!! SOD OFF!! SOD OFF!! SOD OFF!! SOD OFF!! SOD OFF!! SOD OFF!!
SOD OFF!! SOD OFF!! SOD OFF!! SOD OFF!! SOD OFF!! SOD OFF!!

Posted on 10/13/15 | 2:21 AM CET

Daniel Cohn-Bendit

Brits should really LEAVE the EU, since we’re sick and tired of you and your arrogance. You make good comedies, but you SUCK AT EVERYTHING ELSE, including RUGBY!!!

The British approach “will now accelerate (…) and this is the beginning of November that I will know what changes are needed” in the EU, announced the British Prime Minister when he arrived in Brussels for a European summit.